Thursday, March 28, 2024

A Compelling need to put Zambian Politics and the Economy into Context

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Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda addressing the gathering.
Former Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda

By Hon Alexander .B. Chikwanda

In Zambia, we have developed a practice, or rather a culture of blending slogans, myths, aspirations and reality into intricate proportions. Invariably, pious hopes are adrift of or at variance with reality.

The Politics

Let us start with politics. The current myth is that we are so dis-united that we need external moribund organisations, essentially headed for the historic garbage heap of obscurity and oblivion, to foster dialogue amongst ourselves and hence enhance national unity. As a consequence, we even have envoys who should be deployed in their countries of origin where there is injurious, but hopefully not irreversible, disorder.

The reality is that Zambia is meaningfully united in our little diversity. We are not and should not strive to be a monolith. The imperatives of political pluralism require that we accommodate and tolerate free competition of ideas. Of course, there is considerable room for improvement on both sides of the political divide.

The current myth is that we are so dis-united that we need external moribund organisations, essentially headed for the historic garbage heap of obscurity and oblivion, to foster dialogue amongst ourselves

The idea of our founding fathers and mothers of “One Zambia, One nation” is indelibly embedded in our national psyche. There is, however, one glaring slippage and/or lapse in our political scheme of things. We all have and demand privileges and unfettered rights. We, however, do not accept or are totally averse to embracing the duties, obligations and responsibilities that are the flip side of our rights.

Our democracy can only have meaning if we all unreservedly accept our obligations and responsibilities. Those in the opposition must strive for ascendancy through peaceful means and above all must accept electoral adversity, especially when elections have been given a clean bill of health by the quite sceptical international community.

For the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), we should accept the obligation to make the political playing field level and prevent all forms of coercion. We should prevail on law enforcement agencies not to deny the opposition their legitimate rights of assembly on all kinds of flimsy grounds. Where violence may be suspected, there should be enough reinforcement of officers – of course a costly but necessary price for democracy. It is likely the opposition parties may not even use these platforms to gain electoral respectability because their messages are off-tangent. The PF has a track record of strong internal democracy and having held Zambia as an oasis of togetherness, peace and stability –  a continuation of previous administrations. We should not panic and seek recognition from those we defeated far beyond the constitutional requirement of the 50% plus one vote.

For the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), we should accept the obligation to make the political playing field level and prevent all forms of coercion

PF leaders should be out in the field to ensure higher percentage polls in our strongholds. We have the huge advantage of numbers in the North, Copperbelt and Lusaka. Muchinga and Northern had 82,000 more votes than the southern province which had a much higher voter turnout than the two provinces. The votes from the Western and North-Western provinces are a lot fewer than the seven constituencies in Lusaka. Here again, it is a matter of mobilising supporters whatever their grievances and frustrations as the economy slows down.

When we changed from one party to plural politics, we did not change our flawed institutions. We merely crafted Multi-Partyism on the defective institutions of the one-party state, the immutable internal logic which was the indivisibility of power reposed in one institution – The Presidency. The logical sequel of this arrangement was inevitably the privatisation of the state and no veritable mechanism to reverse this has been attempted.

We all mourn late President Sata who was undermined by people around him to the extent of having the speech he ordained for the fourth session of the 11th national assembly of Friday 19th September 2014 removed for one he found was not his speech. He was alarmed and severely constrained to read that speech and unfortunately, he just made off tangent jokes. I quote here below what was in our late departed hero’s preferred speech, a copy of which I was privy to.

I quote:

“the constitution

Mr speaker,

Parliament has the exclusive mandate and prerogative to make the laws for our country including the fundamental law of the land, the constitution. I have found it appropriate to release the draft constitution to parliament before it is available to the public and civil society.

The constitution is a concern and responsibility of all Zambians who are and will forever be stakeholders. As I have consistently maintained, the present constitution safeguards our rights and provides a basis for good governance and democracy. Where there are breaches of rights and low levels of development and thus poverty, it is a matter of human factors and lack of adequate sense of duty, poor work culture and improper programmes of action. These deficiencies cannot be remedied by even the best of constitutions. Only resolve, commitment and change in mindsets can guarantee sustained development of our country.     

Mr. Speaker,
The nation has placed on my shoulders heavy responsibilities to be the custodian of people’s interests and to offer guidance when and if appropriate. My considered advice to the Zambian people is that we should take time to effect changes to the constitution that will stand the litmus test of time. Let us divorce our partisan and personal interests from the constitution which we should all ensure is a credible legacy to many generations to come.

There are many pertinent issues that warrant our deep reflections. One relates to the current excessively costly electoral system that consumes inordinate resources that should be deployed on poverty reduction programmes. It may be prudent to consider less costly alternatives like proportional representation. This system distributes seats more equitably, fairly and precludes unsustainable costs implicit in by-elections.

Mr. Speaker,

The other issue the country may wish to give consideration to is the executive presidency in relation to the distribution of power and checks and balances. As we have seen in the not too distant past, it is not always that presidents have acted with the moral restraint expected of them. It is therefore not inexpedient for the country to consider separating the executive functions of the presidency by reassigning those functions to another office such as prime minister.

At the end of the day, the prerogatives to design the constitution are reposed in the Zambian people. All that I am doing is to share reflections with you from a position of trust and wider experience that you have entrusted me with.”

End of quote.

The lessons from our departed leader gallant hero are several. The most essential facets are:

(1) Not to write our short-term personal and partisan interests into the constitution and to avoid indecent haste, manipulation and stage-managing things.

(2) The consultations must be genuine and extensive so that at the end of the day, people’s ownership of the constitution is totally beyond dispute and above the line.

Let us change the politics of our country from mud-slinging to issues and addressing the efficacy of systems. Smear campaign by those shown red cards and who are proven and ordained high priests of corruption and given lavish platforms by sections of the media that have always stood on the lowest moral ground will not improve the governance of our country. The arrest of moral erosion in our country, which is glaringly palpable, can only be effectively done by revamping key ingredients in the governance structures of our country. Targeting those entrusted to govern our country may erode and dent credibility because in life, appearance and perception may invariably matter more than reality.

The issue of perception and reality takes me down memory lane in 1981 when I was on a six week study tour of America, courtesy of the USA government. This tour sent me to New York, Hartford Connecticut, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Orleans. When I got to Washington, by arrangement my colleague and brother VJ. Mwaanga was there and asked me to join him on his visit to the white house to meet his former colleague at the United Nations and then Vice President of the USA, George H.W. Bush.

Smear campaign by those shown red cards and who are proven and ordained high priests of corruption and given lavish platforms by sections of the media that have always stood on the lowest moral ground will not improve the governance of our country.

When we got to the vice-president’s office in the era of Ronald Reagan, it was clear that there was profound affinity between vice president Bush and VJ. A supposedly fifteen minute courtesy call stretched to one and half hours. While talking about the errands to Pretoria, South Africa of Dr. Chester Crocker, who was Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, for what was appropriately called constructive engagement, VJ intimated that I should make a comment; this was essentially that although in reality the Americans were trying to assure the hated apartheid regime of goodwill in order to influence that regime to move in the right direction, the African governments perceived that exercise to be a collusion with a hated regime. I said to the Vice President that this was because in life, appearance and perception invariably mattered more than reality. Vice president Bush agreed with this sentiment and stated that my view was in some way expressed by a respected American leader who coincidentally had sat in the same chair I was occupying.

As a leading party in our country, we should be aware of public perception. Currently, the image of our Party seems to be on a downward spiral because of the perception, right or wrong, that there is widespread corruption in the PF administration. Ministers are wrongly targeted but much of the rot is at the civil service level. Institutions that are supposed to guide and superintend the operations of the public service have become procurement entities for the glory and benefit of a few individuals.

The PF needs to indulge in serious soul searching and set distinct moral/ethical benchmarks. As a nation, we need a moral crusade to entrench awareness that there is more to life than material trappings. Churches should embrace deeper morality than inadvertently jumping on the corruption bandwagons. To pray and give glory to God is a sacrosanct duty and obligation but churches must not wittingly or inadvertently allow fake profession to prayer as a means to escapism.

As a country, we should seriously reflect on the moral erosion which engulfs the entire society. The country is inexorably becoming a moral and intellectual vacuum as we all embellish, recycle and glamourise worn out slogans, clichés and myths.

 The Economy

The economy will continue to experience some turbulence as the global economy struggles for more robust growth rates that are a stimulant to developing countries. The slowdown in the Chinese economy and the stronger emerging market economies that engender faster global economic impetus will constrain higher commodity prices.

The historic structural deformity in the budget which entailed in excess of 70% of the budget accounting for emoluments and related expenses has now reduced to 54%. But the rise in external and internal debt service when factored into the equation means that the two constitutional and statutory outlays take up 81% of the budget. Although government, quite commendably, executes many development projects throughout the country, there will be little lapses in service delivery.

The realistic expectation in economic growth and job creation can only come from the private sector. Government has now an even greater compelling need for policy consistency and predictability. Unnecessary wrangles with industry are puerile – mining companies absorb quite a lot of unwarranted bashing and yet for a long time to come, mining companies will remain the main stay of the economy. This sector is a very tough and costly one and not as glamorous as most people imagine. As for cheating on taxes, the current mineral royalty sliding scale pre-empts possible scams because in the event that copper prices move substantially upward, government can appropriately adjust the marginal rate and if logic is assigned some primacy, make the adjustment a final tax. We need to induce more investment in a diversified mining sector.

The economies of Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia are coffee driven, and in Zambia we are not embarrassed to produce a miserable 5,000 tons.

The fast track for economic growth is greater investment, both foreign and local, in agriculture and forestry. Paying farmers and distributing inputs far beyond November/December is a recipe for disaster and regression. More reflection on agriculture is needed. We are sliding backwards when we should be making progress. Cotton production peaked at 260,000 tons in 2012 and it was heart-breaking to hear that the 2017 cotton production was a paltry 89,000 tons. This decline is because small scale farmers in 2012 were not paid prices which were a fair and adequate recompense for their back-breaking labours; as a consequence, cotton production in the country set off on a downward trajectory. Cotton has profound beneficial macro-economic ramifications – lint for the textile industry, oil for consumption and a rich cake as protein additives in stock feeds.

The economies of Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia are coffee driven, and in Zambia we are not embarrassed to produce a miserable 5,000 tons.

Agriculture will only have a future if people grow crops in the appropriate ecological zones. Small scale farmers, through improved agronomy, can increase yields without commensurate increase in costs; then we will not need the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) and other gimmicks shrouded in irregularities.

Forestry, adequately funded, can create jobs and generate exports.

We mobilised money from the African development bank (AFDB) for cashew nuts which has huge potential. More money can be sourced but an institution such as the Zambia Forest and Forestry Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) should run the scheme as they will be able to provide the seedlings to small scale farmers expeditiously.

Overall, what the above issues require need are financial resources. I have heard some uncharitable comments on social media about Hon. Dora Siliya. Yet Dora is cerebral, quick on the uptake and committed. Let us put adequate resources in the Agro-Sector and the returns will be very salutary.

The Author is the a Businessman, Member of the Central Committee of the Ruling Patriotic Front and a Former Minister of Finance

88 COMMENTS

  1. More words less actions. You bwana minister was in charge when Zambia was borrowing without a thought about the future generations who will be paying for your failures in running the economy. Shut up

    • Juliet ..You are the epitome of the great tragedy we have in Zambia. Looking at the time the story was posted and the time you posted your comment, it is clear that you have not read the article..how sad. This sms and face book generation, I don’t know.

      Other wise a great piece. But am sure the people or person who swapped Sata’s speech is still around. Isn’t that a criminal act, if not treasonable offense? George Chellah should be able to explain this. I think the act bordered on usurping executive power and that is a serious crime than the Mongu incident.

    • @Bootlicker: Proves a lot that capture or hijacking of the presidecy was not a myth. It says a lot why ECL and RB, who resisted these unsavoury characters, are hated in these circles. These people still around?? How do you explain a whole newspaper published to trumpet lies, insults and total hogwash against ECL/PF???

    • I have not read the article but look at who’s talking, a thief himself and he expects me to read the garbage.

    • Unbelievable that Mr.Chikwanda despite being out of parliament still calls himself “Honorable” can exonerate Ministers from Corruption and blame it on Civil Servants. he has just admitted failure of president Lungu

    • Boss Chikwanda, your long article has very few flash points. The rest is gibberish flamboyance, mere attempt at semantic gymnastics and a circumvent of truth, especially your below belt jabs on the PF hegemony on the welfare of competitive engagement politics. Your PF is an actual sinking Titanic that is unfortunately taking down the future of its people down with it. The exclusivity of some individuals and their assumed wisdom after ascending to high offices seems to presuppose that they suddenly become super-wise, super-rich and demigods is what is proving ultravires to the aspirations and expectations of the ordinary citizens. Your party rose to the captainship of the boat carrying the hopes of millions of Zambians, who invariably had high expectations and energy after shaking off the…

    • Can this man, who has personally BANKRUPTED Zambia not ONCE, but TWICE in his lifetime , really give any sound advice on how to run a country?

      While Zambians are now dying of hunger and CHOLERA, he is living the high life from looting the Nation and condemning future generations into lives of poverty. Simple JUSTICE would be to strip him of all the money he has accumulated and let him live in the same poverty he has caused.

      We remember the first thing he did after Sata was elected was get a contract for himself for maintenance at State House! That is where PF CORRUPTION STARTED, and he should be prosecuted for it and abuse of office.

      Zambia owes this corrupt, incompetent thief nothing more that a JAIL CELL!

    • “Ministers are wrongly targeted but much of the rot is at the civil service level.”….

      Enough finger pointing, call a spade a spade.

      A fish ROTS FROM THE HEAD!

    • We are here being made to listen to an exceptionally hopeless and most selfish of all human beings, one who, firstly during the Kaunda era, and lately, back to back, under PF, has corruptly enriched himself at the expense of the country. He literally camped at the gate of the treasury, and walked away with the loot. Today he is talking, and he wants us to listen and take notes as he talks. How humiliating this is, how disgusting. I am as much out of breath as I am out of my wits.

    • Ba ABC … I was just beginning to enjoy reading your article and then you put an end to it and put in your conclusion.

      Not good for my heart, you need to add a Part 2 to your article. Very much on point, even though some items were more partisan the main points were patriotic.

      Great penmanship … the biggest challenge we have is our new generation is not really up to speed with real issues and just want to criticize everything.

      Zambia Is Greater Than Any Single One Of Us ~ B R Mumba, Sr – the Last Unipist Standing …

  2. Total hogwash Bwana Chikwanda ,your PF party put politics above the need for public health and the result is the cholera epidemic.

  3. ABC left the National Treasury broke. He should tell the Nation what the Debt Stock figure was in 2016 when he ceased being Minister of Finance? How was the Eurobond moneys used? ABC left a culture of Collective Theft in Lungu’s Corrupt govt. ABC is part of the problem. He is trying to defend the indefensible. ABC is filthy rich from high levels of Corruption in Lungu’s govt. Even in retirement ABC is still part of Lungu’s collective thieving enterprise. ABC should shut up and enjoy the Stolen Wealth.

    • Mwansa you are very right. In fact this man started stealing when Zambians didn’t know how to steal. Let him not fool anybody.

    • Zambias answer to “Robert Mugabe” has woken from his bed full of stolen $$$ from his time in power, the man, if you can even call him a man, was usless when he was financial Minister and is still useless today… his forte is embezzling millions from Za peoples…. He talks about our unity and togetherness, yet when in power he sold our mines for peanuts to line his own pockets, he pleased the chinese and not the Zambians…. all his wealth and his kids wealth should be repossessed by the Za gouverment for the people…. he and his thieving children shud be in prison… end off… and one final request, pls pls pls ABC do not insult our intelligence with future articles. Thank you and your welcome

  4. Why didn’t he discuss the things he has tabulated when he was in government? Is he telling the public to work on them?

    • You are asking a pertinent question: Why not then? Why now? Well, that was not his agenda then. It now is. His agenda then, was to steal. He accomplished it remarkably, and left. He is back now, not to pursue the old agenda, but to address issues of public concern. I call that, dishonest. I call it betrayal. On this ground, I bewail his morality to have such audacity as to speak the way he speaks. I am amused he has an audience ready to listen to his, so they seem to suggest – “sound advice.” It’s trash, not deserving our attention.

  5. Advice from an elderly statesman. It is wholesome and timely. Those with the country at heart will heed, those hell bent on seeing this country burn will rubbish it. Twatasha, ba Chikwanda.

  6. It is because of the irresponsibility and divisiveness of such octogenarians like chikwanda that we need to depend on so called moribund institutions like the commonwealth to help bridge the divisions in the country, which were created by chikwanda’s gov’t. For Chikwanda to sit on a pedestal and declare that ” we are meaningfully United” just shows what is so wrong in this country, those benefiting from the PF-induced segregation prefer to turn a blind eye to the fact that the country is deeply divided and the govt is perpetuating these divisions by making sure that provinces that support upnd don’t see any development even through we all pay tax. A drive on the roads going to solwezi, mongu and Livingstone will show you what lam talking about. Meanwhile on the so called northern…

  7. “”Not to write our short-term personal and partisan interests into the constitution and to avoid indecent haste, manipulation and stage-managing things””
    Wasn’t he in the Parliament when they manipulated the constitution? What happened to the Cabinet outside parliament? Didn’t the person he refers to refuse to work on the constitution and claimed that Zambia had a functional constitution?

  8. Ati “cotton production peaked @260k in 2012 …in 2017 it was a paltry 89k tons” .Bwana Chikwanda is indirectly admitting the PF came and ruined the 6.4% growth economy and the bumper harvests of RB’s era.

  9. Look who is talking! Sometimes it’s better to let the sleeping dog lie, ABC you messed our economy in a big way with your Sata, don’t think we have forgotten

    • He steals quietly and unblushingly. Like cancer, Chikwanda is a merciless and emotionless killer and murderer.

  10. Comments above quite expected, upndees don’t want to hear facts. But you can easily guess why they are rattled: the reference to voting patterns and numbers, the petition, the exposure of deliberate damage to the civil service, and the dialogue – all this exposure does not fit into their strategy but they don’t seem to accept that none of their strategues will ever deliver the power that they desperately crave. The “bemba monkeys” have a proverb which aptly describes these strategies: “tukafilila mu nsenga” .

  11. Its amazing how people display their knowledge when they are out of positions of influence. It is a paradox to link the depth of knowledge shared here in this article to the the performance of the writer when he was the Finance Minister. The two seems to be diametrically opposed. The article in it self has brought a lot of issues that make a lot of sense if implemented to the later. My worry though, is the impunity, lack of patriotism, empathy and sheer recklessness on the part of the message bearer to back his words with action. Sir you are an intelligent man but you lack the ability to put what you know into action. Your knowledge is only good for a lecture, you have failed your country on numerous times, you might as well shut up and not insult our intelligence.

  12. Great piece! Based on who the author is , it is not an act of sincerity to discard brilliant idea that pin point workable ideas with potential to break chains of debilitating poverty proliferation. One statement I m yet to come across about ABC is that he made his hands dirty while in the realm of authority. Yes the economy performance plummeted , but that could be equally be a result of many other forces such a prices of our flagship export – copper . By and large, however, the ideas brought out in the above article is balanced politically, progressive and unifying.

  13. On politics he should have written it with an open mind and call for integrity and dedication from politicians. Some people have nothing to offer as mps, councillors etc. The economic part should have given steps on how to grow the economy by removing bottlenecks. Otherwise, it’s good that old man has started talking and get the feedback on how people perceive his MOF performance. We expect one from Katele,,Nawakwi, Magande

  14. ABC is right on! We should not mix politics and economics! Dialogue? What dialogue? There are no problems in Zambia to warrant dialogue initiated by foreign figures! Dialogue just because one person wants to become president, and doesn’t want to believe that in reality more than 80% Zambians don’t want his leadership! Obasajo had the time and resources to waste to come to Zambia to initiate dialogue when there are more serious tribal and religious differences in his home country, Nigeria! Same applies to Mrs Scotland, there are more serious regional and ethinic problems in the United Kingdom than in Zambia! I once came across a young lady from Mazabuka who has two registration cards, one is in her father’s name, the other is registered in her Mother’s maiden name, and she was able to…

  15. Ati ” GRZ now has a compelling need for policy consistency & predictability” Excuse me Chikwanda walk the talk ,why then didn’t you oppose many of MCS’s abrupt changes and unpredictable policies ?

  16. A few issues:
    1. Its no good claiming that the PF has a problem because it has an “image” of corruption – it has only a click of “leaders” who very definitely ARE corrupt.
    2. And on that note (getting rid of corruption), the opposition has been one of the prime roadblocks putting the PF ahead of the country and protecting the few corrupt leaders like Harry Kalabla and Kambwili from accountability. Th eopposition is guilty of corruption as any of the rest of them because it has been an enabler and defender of corruption throughout since Kambwili and Kalaba left Cabinet.
    3. Any party that has tolerated and protected the likes of Kalaba, Kambwili and Mulusa, et al, for so long, cannot claim to have any intent to do the right thing or the ability to implement the farcical “self…

  17. Guys and baiche and naimwe mwebakalamba banandi (to you young ones and my age mates or fellow elders . first of all before you comment read the whole story and then comments , what uncle and tribal cousin is very wise and timely advise to all of us starting with the PF , opposition and general citizenry .

    Yes Zambia is not as divided as we want to create it , in the same when you are winning a champion as in boxing , knock them out clearly , meaning for an election to win a sitting president do it as Sata did to RB which is even hard to rig . But also that he says the perception is more impactful than the reality , also that the perception for now is Government is too corrupt and he also says the Civil service corruption is high which need sorted out . So what which has said in way…

    • Mr Zulu, civil service corruption can only be as high as it is because it is being tolerated by the authorities, in other words, by the highest authority in the land. Otherwise, the highest authority must take action against ACC and ZPS, ‘cause it shows that they are incompetent.

      The highest authority can not fold its arms saying “don’ blame me, blame the civil service”. If I may ask, who is ultimately responsible for the performance of the civil service?

    • mumba mwaiche wandi nausosa tafichilaapa, inebeba act act and namailo ndebeba , call me mwaiche on 0977531821 this is our country and we shall fight for what is right

  18. Now here’s a chimbwi with a plan which went wrong. This man is responsible for getting Zambia into serious debts during the UNIP era and now for the second time with PF. What utter nonsense. You inherited a government surplus and went on a spending spree with your 90 days rhetoric. You borrowed with a view that it will be someone else’s problem to sort out. You Mr Chikwanda should be behind bars for your reckless spending and borrowing which will cause more suffering for the future generation of this country.

    • Edgar Lungu has put on the same shoes that Alexander Chikwanda left behind. They are all thieves. Were that not the case, Alexander Chikwanda should have been arrested and charged for theft. As we speak, he is a free man.

  19. To be frank. this article is nothing but utter rubbish. i’m surprised that its coming from a former finance minister. with such kinds of minds being the policy makers, there’s no way a country can progress. This man during his time as finace minister they grabbed zamtel, thereby putting a huge liability on govt, they started a commission of enquiry in fuel pricing they said it was overpriced ,only he knows the end of this rubbish comission of enquiry. they wanted to grab back zanaco that it was fraudulently sold. where are we with this issue mr chikwanda. You shd never write something like this again otherwise you look like a fool.

    • One would have expected the old man to have gotten wiser over time. That is hardly the case. He is still as much a moron as he has always been, good only for snatching and taking away that which does not belong to him.

  20. Academically right and well written. However, this piece is coming from one the architects of a flawed country’s political system. One of the architects of the currrent decay in our political system. Zambian needs a generational shift to move forward! A shot at Pf and the opposition isn’t balanced considering the author who has served in all regimes since independence!

  21. ABC is wrong. There is a very thin line between politics and economics. Hunger and Cholera are caused by Politicians/Policy makers who do not provide financial and human resources to supply clean and treated water to consumers. Policy makers who fail to provide affordable inputs to farmers on time and set economic prices to make farming viable. ABC should not complain of Commonwealth Dialogue. As Minister of Finance ABC financed the rigging of the 2016 Elections. ABC is one of the illegal Ministers who should payback to Treasury what they earned illegally in 2016. ABC has no moral authority to talk about these things becoz him and PF Koswes looted the Treasury dry. The Rampant Corruption in the PF govt started when ABC was Minister of Finance. ABC should shut up and enjoy his retirement…

    • Imagine this prick even denouncing well motivated Commonwealth efforts !!!, reminding of his attention seeking in USA with fellow womaniser VJ…Those Sata intentions you bring them up now for Satan’s sake ulefwayanshi? Clean your hands exe.

  22. This man is as moribund as the institution he refers to. He is part of the problem and not the solutions. This hypocritical posturing is just that – posturing!

  23. Until we start hearing the voice behind the vioce, we will always fail to comprehend.

    Its good we still have people that can criticis themselves at the same time criticising others and this is why the comments are coming the way they are. The old man has wiped both himself/themselves and those that expect to be praised. I can only thank him for he has tried to mirror his own and its up to his own to reflect.

  24. I agree with chikwanda…..moral decay and corruption on the up…..how can you function normally when you have a president who does not deny that he is a corrupt theif.

    Every other day lungu is being called a corrupt theif and does not attempt to deny this……

  25. Lungu is being called names every day by those who are just jealous of him because they didn’t see how ended up in that presidency. They were busy bribing and fighting there way to state house, but God through late president Michael Sata revealed to him that for peace and stability in country the only one he could annoint to take over from him was ECL, and he did just that! Imagine the pomposity and sturbbonness of HH, GBM or Kambwili at state hpuse , there would be total confusion in the country, and to the worst, war! So some people should just be ready to save under others , and to think of leading others!

    • Lungu has been a disaster of a president ……his conviction for defrauding a widow before he was president is not a one off coincidence….

    • @Zambian Citizen, this is what happens when people have no logical counter argument, they resort to insults. It is not your so called bum wipers ravaged by cholera but the apparently professional Zambian citizen such as you. Do I detect a hint of sour grapes, how is it your concern if that is what they want to do? I see Zambian consultants in hospitals, lecturers and they are spread across the professionals and yes like everywhere very few in the care sector.

    • Ba manganga
      which God can allow corruption? Chikwanda is saying corruption is rampant under PF but the thieves are civil servants NOT president Lungu and his cohorts of corruption. Kaisa Zulu and Amosi Chanda are top civil servants which President Lungu has allowed to steal with impunity. concede and digest criticism, will help you party PF.

    • Don’t talk about Zambians. Talk about yourself. You may try in vain to discredit people who are abroad just because you are petty and jealous of them. Unlike you, who sings about FF, most of them hold very good positions in various sectors of the economy.

  26. Too late best is warn ministers in office today not to think they know it all and that they should pay attention when people speak on a subject matter….Chikwanda was in charge now he sees the flaws how ironic …..why did he not advice his colleagues and his boss while in office….this si what someone wrote….used toilet paper article…..

    • To be fare it was chikwanda who highlighted PF theft via over inflated construction tenders…..chikwanda pointed out that the burden on the countries debt and economy was a result of over inflated tenders PF ministers and statehouse were giving each other..

    • @ 26.1 Spaka like lilo

      If that was not empty rhetoric, tell me what he did to back-up his shallow enunciation? He was the minister of finance then, was he not?

    • Meimatungu

      Yes he was minister of finance and he was giving some reasons why he was unable to balance the budget……siting over priced tenders boadering on out right theft…

  27. Had this man a tiny bit of conscience, and a grain of morality, he never would have opened his mouth to address the nation from so lofty a podium. He is a thief and a destroyer. He has destroyed our country by impoverishing the whole lot of us. Now Zambia is cholera, and cholera is Zambia.

  28. Alexander Chikwanda has here attempted to use the power of words in the English language to repaint, if not repair, his image on the canvas of our minds. But can he speak our language – the language of poverty and of Cholera? Doesn’t he see that the portrait of himself, he is attempting to paint, is already full of graffiti – the graffiti he, himself smeared on it? Or could it be that he doesn’t know what we know? May be he doesn’t. Let’s give him that benefit of a doubt. Please, somebody, tell him what we know him – that we know him, possibly better than he knows himself. This verdict is not from Zambia’s equally corrupt Judiciary. It’s from the court resident in our minds – we the poor and the impoverished Zambians.

  29. Thought provoking and revealing. There’s no doubt Zambia is under siege by a very strong mafia. Even Mwanawasa’s speech to Parliament in which he listed FTJ’s misdeeds when seeking the removal of Chiluba’s immunity was stolen from the safe in his office where he had locked it. As a result, his address to Parley was delayed because he needed to redo his speech and unfortunately not all salient details were recalled. I don’t envy anybody occupying that office. Some are even willing to kill just to get to Plot 1! It’s even scary that Enock Kavindele recently called for an inquiry into Sata’s death. There’s more dirty under the Presidential carpet

    • Get the sense out of Chikwanda said , forget what you know about him , but read , even characters who fake names , discuss the matters as they are shushus it shall take you no where . This is our country together just like we did not support RB and supported Sata with his confusion , but he made sense at the time .
      So know that I and all around me and all those i can influence we voted and supported PF todate ,but cannot support lies and corruption , if they change yes who ever may have my vote or our votes .

      The current civil service has become more politicised and also more criminal , this is what Chikwanda spoke about openly and said this is the current perception and gave a an example of his trip to USA in the 1980s with VJ met the then VP Bush senior before seeing the…

  30. Blame shifting. Iwe Chikwanda you agrees that Corruption is rampant under PF government but you blame it (corruption) on civil servants. I doubt very much we have leadership in Edgar Lungu, allowing civil servants stealing public funds with impunity. Chikwanda I agree with you on Hon. Dora Siliya, she’s the only hard working minister in MMD-PF, the rest are big mouth for nothing blowing their own trumpets. Chikwanda you can now tell your boy President Lungu that his hallucination on having another term 2021 combined with corruption has destroyed PF, and PF is no longer a popular party. The writings on the wall: Corruption and cholera. We will deal with cholera but corruption is now another name tag for PF. If you are not careful You will be beaten by HH pants-down!

    • Your insatiable appetite for power based on tribal voting won’t work. Read your history on urbanisation in Zambia; ECL is not responsible for the shanty compounds that surround the capital. Town planning is a function of the town clerk and his technocrats. Previous town clerks of Lusaka including Winter Kabimba need to be held accountable for the haphazard planning of the city. Tribalists please sober on cholera and corruption. A large proportion of Tonga speaking people live and do business Kanyama slum; is ECL responsible for this?

  31. Long rhetorical article but no Substance. He presided over a declining economy and accountable for the current mess. How dare he wants to hoodwink people he has anything to offer now

  32. Thanks ABC for the great article. UPND is a tribal party whose core belief is anchored in the illusion that only a Tonga President ie HH can correct Zambia’s problems. They have failed to counter the facts in your paper and now trying to discredit the author.

    • What facts have you seen in this paper? The man has talked about issues he failed to raise when he was part of the government. He knew the constitution was manipulated by PF, but kept quiet. He knew PF did not allow other parties to hold meetings, etc. These are some of the issues he has raised. He wants unity in the country, but the tone of his writing is partisan. I guest your reading comprehension is deficient.
      Please stop your neo-nazist thought. We are in the 21st century.

  33. Sata was given the wrong speech?? By who? His press secretary?? Scandal! Why didn’t the media did deeper?

    • Zambians never noticed it because Sata too was a big crook. Zambians remember him for as a crook who would stop at nothing, Lusaka City council mezarf housing project, Suitcase of cash at Mulungushi with late Golden Mandandi in a bid for failed Chiluba 3rd term. Marrying a medical doctor for status inferiority complex but above all creating a regime that is now plundering Zambian resources leaving citizens in poverty with a corrupt government. God reigns.

  34. Dr Kalaba has hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately few respondents have any data-analysis skills.This may be due lack of education and low intelligence (Learning Difficulties -due to various causes).

  35. With God we have elders like ABC who are bold.
    He has been around long enough to know better.
    He even knows that he will be derided by UPND unpatriotic citizens.However,he is NOT a coward.He want’s to contribute to our national debate.
    I agree with him on political dialogue.We don’t need outsiders when we have our own institutions to help us with dialogue among political parties.
    Let those with eyes read and understand.

  36. We do not have time and ears to listen to this fossil whose legacy is, as that old man who mortgaged Zambia for repayment to be made by his children, children’s children and children’s children’s etal. Even in heaven Chikwanda will be reminded.

  37. A useful analysis by the former Minister, that helps to examine and understand the relations within our political system. In a time when people still have questions about how a number of things have been done, it is good to hear an appeal from him to the ruling party to “indulge in serious soul searching and set distinct moral/ethical benchmarks.”

    Unfortunately, the lecture has come a little late as I feel that the depth and impulse of his thoughts would have been more appreciated at the time when he was still serving as Finance minister/Vice President.

    Whether we like to hear it or not, it is the faulty decisions of the past that have created our miseries today, just like the decisions that are made today will influence our prosperity tomorrow.

  38. E-voucher needed to be configured and tested before the rains. Simulations were required before the actual execution. The task was technical but humility was missing. A laptop and a bus fare to all corners of the country would have reduced costs and delivered results. The views expressed in the article must be examined carefully and then specific points implemented.

  39. Almost 6 years ago, the nation had a choice: collect dividends from the mines, or get into debt through Eurobond loans. Minister Chikwanda called people who advocated for the Windfall Tax “lunatics”. I think he didn’t really believe that. I think that he knew that the best thing for the nation was to collect what was due, not get into debt, which must be paid back, after interest payments have been made for the duration of the loan. Clearly, objectively speaking, there was no choice. So why would a person with former Minister Chikwanda believe otherwise? Google: chikwanda lunatics maravi

  40. ABC is indirectly telling his PF the realities of what they are doing. This is timely if they hear him and act accordingly rather than dismiss his advise. The current crop in government lacks that unifying maturity to lead a nation. Even politically their conduct can be said to be childish for lack of a better term! Perception is everything but we have a so called government spokesperson whom i cant remember when she reported on the happenings on her government. In that information void, we see ‘scandals’ being unearthed and after their exposure then the ministers starts providing ‘answers’. Why so much secrecy if what they are doing is legit? effectively creating for themselves a corrupt tag even where they maybe genuinely doing the right thing…

  41. Political intolerance; ABC has put it for you PF that you should concentrate on mobilising your strong holds and making sure you improve the voter turn out in your areas. He has provided numbers there meaning if your so called strong holds turn up the way other people turn up in their strong holds, you can win comfortably. This therefore means that there is no sense in victimising your opponents and denying them their rights to assembly! If PF have ears let them hear. And ABC can advise this with his head held high, Sata’s PF never victimised the opponents. Nevers Mumba is one leader that was very vocal against Sata but never was he denied rights of assembly even at the time he was criss crossing the country for his own MMD elections…

  42. This short memo is addressed to you bwana Chikwanda, your friends V.J. and RB. I put the present predicament Zambia has found itself in squarely on the shoulders of the three of you. WHY? This is how. I am surprised you three guys do not know when to quit. You Mr. Chikwanda, VJ and RB have been at the helm of Zambian politics since Zambia’s independence in 1964. But what have you got to show for it, apart from having lined your pockets with a lot of dough. Isn’t it time we stopped hearing from you? Can you keep quiet already? You appear not to know when to call it a day. What is your article about really? You wanted to glorify another of your beneficiary friend in the name of Sata? You Mr. Chikwanda were part of UNIP, MMD and PF and your VJ was part of UNIP, MMD and he mistakenly…

  43. thought UPND was winning in the last election, hence he jumped on the UPND bandwagon (I am sure he will continue to stick with UPND with that hope). RB on the other hand became president of Zambia and he just like you was part of UNIP, MMD and yes even PF. Surely you guys have had your say on Zambia and you still cannot see that Zambia is in this mess because of the likes of you? You still think you are relevant to the present dispensation? You Alex were an advisor to Chiluba and Sata and I am sure you also retained very close ties with your friend RB when he was president. What advice did you miss giving your friends that we have to hear now? What will it achieve?

  44. While the three of you were sleeping or reaping Zambia dry, other countries that became independent after Zambia were overtaking Zambia in heaps and bounds in economic development. So what advise where you giving Kaunda, Chiluba and Sata for Zambia to still be in this mess? Why is Zambia still experiencing Cholera? Why is its healthy system still in dire straits? As twice Minister of Finance under UNIP and PF, what can you show for your results? No, Mr. Chikwanda and your cohorts give us a break, will you?

  45. What can we say sir, when a toilet tribal party is on the forefront misleading its tribal prone cadres to misinformation and cholera news like itself!

  46. Sir you have come out of your wine cellar and started to talk, yet when you and the Entire Finance Junior officers were stealing blindly did you once stop to think the future impact on the Economy? Yourself the Secretary to the Treasury and the PS all corrupt with Chinese funds all this will come out of the closet when the time is right. Go back to your wine cellar and keep drinking your expensive wines that will last you till your lifetime.

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